"General Tyson, seems like you have some guests?"
Zevlin's voice was deep, his imposing aura involuntarily affecting the people around him, making them shiver in both fear and admiration. His pair of striking golden eyes never leaving Umi's dark ones.
He is clearly younger than Reyr but his overbearing manner speaks volumes of his own confidence, his life experiences, and how he took pride in his abilities.
Reyr and Fred immediately bowed down their heads to pay respect. "Yes, my lord. This is the girl whom I have been talking to you about."
Zevlin hummed in a low voice, almost sounding like a growl from a feral animal. "She doesn't seem so special as how you describe her to be."
One eyebrow of Umi twitched in its own, her annoyance reflecting on her fair face.
'Really? In front of me?'
Ah, of course. The Male Lead, as to how he was described by the story, should be like this.
High and mighty, like an overbearing tyrant, while only being gentle to the Female Lead when the attraction towards each other starts.
"My lord, I beg you to look again," Reyr suggested, glancing at the little Fae with gentle eyes as though to reassure the girl.
Zevlin crossed his arms as he leaned for a closer look. Finally, a look of recognition flashed in his handsome face for a mere second. "You plan to train her?"
Reyr's eyes lit up. "Yes, though I haven't discussed that matter with her yet."
Zevlin's line of sight then shifted to the boy beside Umi. "And this one?"
"He's her brother. I believe he also has the potential to become a fighter."
Cage, who heard of this coming from the mouth of the young man in white, puffed up his chest to showcase his pride. Although still annoyed by the word "brother", he was pleased to hear someone compliment him about his potential. Although Fae compliments him on a regular basis during training, it is a whole other thing when you get complimented by someone else, especially someone who seems strong.
After sizing up the boy, Zevlin drew his eyes back to the girl, his gaze looking intently at her eyes.
"Both of them are still weak..."
Umi narrowed her eyes, awaiting his next words. 'I swear if this man—'
"...yet also promising."
After hearing his next words, Umi let out a sigh of relief.
' Well at least he has good eyes for people.' Umi finished her thoughts in a mild tone.
At least her hard work has paid off. That's right! She was not as weak as the original!
'Come here you wild male lead and I'll give you a taste of my fist!' But of course, Umi never voiced out those words, because who knows what might happen if ever she did that?
"Very well, train them if you find it convenient. Make sure to request proper permission from their guardians. If you want to train them on your own, bring them back with you later today. That is, if both of them have the will to fight also."
Zevlin took a step back and after gazing into Umi's eyes one last time, the man turned to the side. "We'll meet at the gate before sunset."
As soon as he left, it was as if the four people left behind can finally let out a breath.
"The lord can be frightening sometimes...but he is not a bad person," Reyr explained, feeling apologetic towards the pair of kids.
"Aye. Many people admire him," Fred added while exhaling a deep breath.
The two rebels shared an exasperated look as they think of their fearsome leader.
After a moment of silence, Umi was the first one to break the ice.
"Who was he?"
Umi had to know whether the prince is still hiding his identity. Because if not, it will only be a short while before he was discovered if not careful and this rebellion will turn straight into the gutter without even them trying.
If that happens, this story is finished. Seriously, what is this male lead thinking?
"He's our lord, the leader of Obsidian. Scary, isn't he? But he treats people fairly and he rarely gets angry," Reyr replied.
"I mean his name. What's his name?" Umi insisted
Reyr was taken aback by the question. He appears to be hesitant at first then he sighed after a while. "No one knows his name."
"His identity?"
Fred, who was quietly listening to the side, tried to reprimand the clueless girl. "Hey kid, you can't just—"
"It's fine Fred." Reyr smiled. "No one knows too, Fae. The Lord is very secretive."
Umi inwardly sighed in relief.
'At least he kept his identity a secret,' She thought.
When the news of the Tower of Magic was released, the corpses of the children were burned to the ground by the Mad King's soldiers because of the pressure from the people, at least they were guilty enough to hide the evidence. Umi thinks it was a mistake on their side, not only they did fail to do a headcount, but they also failed to notice two escapees. Umi find it the most advantageous on her part, at least the two of them won't find any death flags coming after them.
The people, whose attention was diverted towards the Tower of Magic, never expected another turmoil was also currently happening. Unbeknownst to them, every household of the noble people was also facing a horrible situation. It was a one-sided war. It was utterly hell-like, to say the least.
The Mad King perfectly deserves his title, he was indeed mad. He used the powers of the royal children to his own advantage, turning it against the whole continent. He was powerful and fearful.
Umi, once again, felt unfair to be transmigrated into this timeline. Can't the goddess put her after the war? Umi was then reminded of Mochi's reply whenever she whines about this, "Then it will not be an interesting story anymore. Don't worry, if anything bad happens, you won't get killed for real. Plus, you won't feel any kind of pain, so what's the point of your whining?"
Umi side-eyed the kitten and silently reproached him in her heart.
She had asked the kitten once, "Mochi, do you have like a time machine there that can take us to the time after the war?"
But the kitten only replied, "Sorry, what the goddess wants, the goddess gets."
Umi can only silently lit a candle for herself in her heart.
"Hey, is it true you will train us? I mean, you just arrived here and we only have just learned about your group today, although we're interested, I don't know if our grandparents will let us come with you," Cage mumbled in a hurry.
Reyr made a knowing expression. "Maybe your grandparents shielded you from any information about beyond this village, but things are chaotic out there. Let me explain it to you."
Reyr then explained how things were going on outside, terrible and scary things. People in the capital cities were treated as slaves, noblemen were killed, the royal children from the tower of magic were massacred, taxes were increased exponentially, crops were forcefully taken from farmers, goods were monopolized by the palace, and many other terrible things.
As expected, Cage was horrified by the sudden revelation. He thought it was unbelievable. He can't believe that all this time, the peace provided by these small villages was only a delusion. He knew about the Tower of Magic, because Fae told him about it when she explained where she came from, but he never knew about the other things.
Above all, Cage was worried about Fae's reaction. How would she feel if she knew about her family?
When Cage glanced to his side where Fae was, he saw how her gentle eyes wavered like a flickering light of a candle against a strong wind. Her usually indifferent face made signs of weakness and he immediately knew how hard it was for her. He was the only one who knows about Fae's identity as a princess, then obviously, he should be always there for her.
Umi, on the other hand, kept listening calmly. Contrary to Cage's worries, she was actually anxious about the male lead's sudden changes. Fortunately, she noticed that at least not everyone in Obsidian knows of Zevlin's identity just by how Reyr introduces him. They only speak of him as their "lord", nothing else.
"He is a man with integrity and a brave heart. He is the one who founded Obsidian, along with the other generals. We plan to overthrow the Mad King, and we have been recruiting allies around locations that were out of the King's reach, just like your village."
Umi wasn't sure if Reyr knew of Zevlin's nobility but she was sure that Zevlin wanted to keep it a secret. Just like how in the original story, he had only revealed his identity as the prince who can wield the Holy Sword when they won against the King.
The Holy Sword is believed to be an artifact made by the first King, a great ruler, who conquered the whole continent during ancient times and only wanted to bestow it to someone worthy, thus the first King put a spell on the sword, allowing the sword to be able to choose its master every one hundred years.
Although many people have already seen Zevlin's golden hair and eyes, their curious glances and probing questions only remain unanswered. Besides, not all who have the golden hair were blessed with the ability to wield the Holy Sword.
Blonde hair and a pair of similarly colored eyes were not particularly uncommon in this world. But only those who have magical prowess can be special among them all. Ever since ancient times, only one in every century will be chosen by the sword itself. Hearing news of the death of the royal children with magical abilities, people have already lost hope to find someone who can wield that sword.
When faced with hard times, people immediately will hope to find someone to lead them towards salvation. Whether that hope continues, it remains uncertain.
As a normal human before all this, Umi had her own reservations. Of course, she would be reluctant to face an enemy like a crazy King, but...knowing how even if her legs were cut off, her chest stabbed, or her head severed, she won't ever feel an ounce of the supposed pain.
Well, what's stopping her?
Umi's dark eyes flashed with pure determination and full resolution, and then she said the following words with a loud and crystal clear voice.
"Reyr, count me in."
Umi has decided.
"I want to fight."
Starting now, she will be the proper heroine for this story.
"Let me fight."
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⚘ A/N ⚘
Question: Do you think Umi's decision to join the rebellion was rational?
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Dear Readers,
This author loves you.
Yours truly,
ACLIXAM
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